Monday, February 2, 2009

SCV Restores Confederate Veterans' Cemetery in Texas

A city crew pours concrete Friday for the curb and parking lane in front of the Belton South Cemetery on South Penelope Street. The cemetery is undergoing a renovation thanks to a partnership between Belton and the Maj. Robert M. White Camp No. 1250 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Dennis Browning, parks superintendent, said a wrought iron arch will be installed across the entrance.

Maj. Robert M. White’s legacy to Bell County resides in his reputation as a man of high character and high spirit. He is also remembered for his incredible scouting skills and his prowess as a leader during the Civil War. White’s gravesite carries an inscription carved into an obelisk in the flowery prose of an earlier day. “His many virtues form the noblest monument to his memory.”

John C. Perry of Temple has researched and chronicled White and the Civil War. He said White was recorded in the Bell County census of 1860 along with his wife, Sarah, and a daughter, Christine. White was listed as a grocer by trade. Perry said White was known in the 1850s for his exploits leading posses to track down Indians who stole horses from Bell County residents. He would then return the horses to their owners.